Options

CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro offers two additional features associated with the way the rules are processed (Fig. 1.):

• Processing of subsequent rules
• Scheduler

Fig. 1. The rule options tab.

Processing of subsequent rules

The Processing the rules that follow section allows you to decide if the program should process the next rules after the current rule is (or is not) applied. It can be accessed via the Options tab when a rule is created or edited (Fig. 1. above). By default, each rule is configured to Go to the next rule, no matter if that rule is applied or not (the only exception is the Unsubscribe mechanism – Block message rule, where the Stop processing next rules radio button is selected in the If this rule is applied section).

The rules are applied in the order they are placed on the list in the left column (see Fig. 1.) from top to bottom. The order of rules can be changed using the arrow buttons in the menu on the left. This also means that if several signatures are to be added by different rules, they will be added top to bottom in the order the rules are applied.

A rule is considered to have been applied if the message meets the criteria specified on the Conditions, Exceptions and Options tabs. The fact that a rule has been applied does not necessarily mean that the action has been executed. In rare cases, when there are other criteria specified elsewhere in the program (for example in the template editor) that suppress the execution of an action, the rule will be applied, but the action will not be executed.

Example:

You set up a rule that adds signatures only to emails sent outside your organization and only to the first email that a member of your staff sends in a conversation. There are also other rules on your list, but you don’t want the program to apply them after the signature has been added to the conversation. Your configuration is as follows:

• Conditions tab: Message direction is outgoing
• Exceptions tab: none
• Actions tab: Insert signature
• Options tab: In the If this rule IS applied section, you changed the default setting to Stop processing next rules.

With these settings alone, the signature would be added to every email sent externally. To limit adding the signature to the first email (new or reply) in a conversation, you chose the Add the signature to the first email only (do not add it to subsequent emails) option in the Signature settings window of the editor.

Now, although the rule is applied to all emails sent externally, the Insert signature action is executed only for the first email in a conversation. Because of your Options tab settings, there will be cases when the email goes out without a signature, and no further rules from your list of rules are applied.

Scheduler

This feature enables you to set a specified time frame during which the rule works. There are two options to choose from. The first (default) option will schedule the rule to be used continuously without any time limits (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Default Scheduler options.

The second option allows you to set the rule to work within the chosen time frames. After choosing this option, click the Schedule button (Fig. 2.) to open the Scheduler configuration window.

Once the configuration window displays, you are able to set different recurrence patterns with the time ranges when your rule is active: Custom, Daily, Weekly or Monthly (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Scheduler configuration window.

In the Custom recurrence pattern, you can define any type of recurrence using the Rule date range editor (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. Rule date range editor available for the Custom recurrence pattern.

The other types of recurrence patterns, i.e. Daily, Weekly or Monthly, are shown in the figures below.

Fig. 5. Daily recurrence pattern.

Fig. 6. Weekly recurrence pattern.

Fig. 7. Monthly recurrence pattern.

Each of these patterns have additional time ranges to configure:

• Rule activity time - exact hour/minute frames within which the rule will be triggered.
• Range of recurrence - Start and End date frames for the recurrence pattern.

Note that by default the No end date checkbox is marked so unless it is unmarked, the pattern will continue permanently. Furthermore, all types of recurrence patterns have the All day checkbox marked by default. If you want to set a time range shorter than the whole day, uncheck it and define the specific hours for your rule to be triggered.

See next

Template editor - an overview of the built-in tool for composing signatures and disclaimers.

See also

Advanced features and options - this article and its subsections describe advanced features and options that boost the program's functionalities and significantly improve its operation.